Boeing to upgrade software after crash

Boeing confirmed late on Monday it will deploy a software upgrade to the 737 MAX 8, a few hours after the Federal Aviation Administration said it would mandate “design changes” in the aircraft by April.

Grace Lee reports.

Advertisement

Boeing to upgrade software after crash

U.S. regulators will order Boeing to make changes to its top jetliner after a deadly crash in Ethiopia.

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Monday (March 11) it would require the changes no later than April.

Just hours later, Boeing responded by confirming it will deploy a software upgrade to the 737 MAX 8 - saying it's designed to make a quote "already safe aircraft even safer" Boeing's new model has had two fatal crashes within five months, the first just last October in Indonesia.

The company says changes to the 737 MAX 8 have been in the works since.

In both cases there were no survivors.

Now the FAA says external reports are drawing similarities between those two crashes though it says it hasn't drawn any conclusions yet.

Despite all this, the plane is still taking to the skies in North America.

The United States on Monday told international carriers that the model is airworthy as other countries, like China, Indonesia and Singapore began grounding the jet.

The 737 line, which has flown for more than 50 years, is the world's best-selling modern aircraft and viewed as one of the industry's most reliable.

The 737 MAX is the newest version of that jet with a larger and more efficient engine, and a big money maker for the company.

After the crash in Ethiopia Boeing's shares briefly saw their biggest one-day drop since the September 11, 2001 attacks, falling as much as 13 and a half percent early Monday before closing down 5 percent.